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Digital divide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Graph of internet users per 100 inhabitants between 1997 and 2007 by International Telecommunication Union

Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants growth in developed and developing world between 1997 and 2007

The digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology, and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalance both in physical access to technology and the resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen.

The term is commensurate with the term knowledge divide, both reflecting the access of various social groupings to information and knowledge, typically gender, income, race, and by location.[1] The term global digital divide refers to differences in access between countries.

Contents

[edit] Origins of the term

Initially referring to the gap in ownership of computers between certain ethnic groups,[2][3] the term came into usage in the mid-1990s, appearing in several news articles and political speeches.[4] President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore both used the term in a 1996 speech in Knoxville, Tennessee.[5] Larry Irving, a former United States head of the National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and technology adviser to the Clinton Administration, noted that a series of NTIA surveys[6][7][8][9] were "catalysts for the popularity, ubiquity, and redefinition" of the term, and he used the term in a series of later reports.[4] During the George W. Bush Administration, the NTIA reports[10][11] tended to focus less on the availability of the necessary hardware, more on Internet access, broadband in particular, and the disparity of access between the developed and developing worlds.

There is considerable accountable literature on the subject (info) that predates common usage of the term, thus it is more of a "new label" for what was already a distinct concept.

[edit] Current usage

There are several definitions of the Term. Bharat Mehra defines it simply as the troubling gap between those who use computers and the Internet and those who do not.[12].

More recently, some have used the term to refer to gaps in broadband network access.[3] The term can mean not only unequal access to computer hardware, but also inequalities between groups of people in the ability to use information technology fully.[13]

Given the range of criteria used to assess the various technological disparities between groups/nations, and lack of data on some aspects of usage, the exact nature of the digital divide is both contextual and debatable.

Lisa Servon argued in 2002 that the digital divide is a symptom of a larger and more complex problem -- that of persistent poverty and inequality.[14] Mehra (2004), identifies socioeconomic status, income, educational level, and race among other factors associated with technological attainment, or the potential of the Internet to improve everyday life for those on the margins of society and to achieve greater social equity and empowerment.[12]

[edit] Evolution

Typical measurements of inequality distribution used to describe the digital divide are the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient.[15] In the Lorenz curve, perfect equality of Internet usage across nations is represented by a 45-degree diagonal line, which has a Gini coefficient of zero. Perfect inequality gives a Gini coefficient of one. However, the question of whether or not the digital divide is growing or closing is difficult to answer.

The Canadian document Bridging the digital divide: An opportunity for growth for the 21st century includes examples of these measures.[15] Figures 2.4 and 2.5 in the document show a trend of growing equality from 1997 to 2005 with the Gini coefficient decreasing. However, these graphs do not show detailed analysis of specific income groups.[16] The progress represented is predominantly of the middle-income groups when compared to the highest income groups. The lowest income groups continue to decrease their level of equality in comparison to the high income groups. Therefore, there is still a long way to go before the digital divide will be eliminated.[16]

[edit] Divide and education

One area of significant focus was school computer access. In the 1990s, better resourced schools were much more likely to provide their students with regular computer access; and, at the end of the decade, these schools were much more likely to have internet access.[17]

In the context of schools which have consistently been involved in discussion of the divide, current formulations focus more on how (and whether) students use computers, rather than simply whether there are computers or Internet connections.[18] Public libraries[19] and afterschool programs[20] have also been shown to be important access and training locations for disadvantaged youth.

The E-Rate program in the United States (officially the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund), authorized in 1996 and implemented in 1997, directly addressed the technology gap between rich and poor schools by allocating money from telecom taxes to poor schools without technology resources. Though the program faced criticism and controversy in its methods of disbursement, E-Rate has been credited with increasing the overall number of public classrooms with Internet access from 14% in 1996 to 95% in 2005.[21] Recently, discussions of a digital divide in school access have broadened to include technology related skills and training in addition to basic access to computers and Internet access.[22]

Technology offers a unique opportunity to extend learning support beyond the classroom, a somewhat difficult attainment until recent years. The variety of functions that the Internet can serve for the individual user makes it "unprecedentedly malleable" to the user’s current needs and purposes.[23]

Access to technology is further divided within schools according to socio-economic status (SES). The upper SES maintains access to technology at home, whereas the lower SES children are limited to technology access only at school. With the non-equitable availability of technology outside of the classroom, there will continue to be a divide among student groups.

Providing schools with technology is not sufficient to close the digital divide. Teachers must receive the appropriate training in order to use technology effectively and to increase student learning.

Although education could be used as a tool to close the "digital gap", closing this gap will not completely close the achievement gap between students from lower and higher SES backgrounds.

[edit] Global digital divide

Global Digital Divide1.png

More broadly, the global digital divide describes the Infotech disparities between different regions of the world in relation to generalised rates of social and technological development, (right).

One school of thought holds that, as the internet becomes progressively more sophisticated, the digital divide is growing, that those to whom it is least available are being left behind. Countries with a wide availability of Internet access can advance the economics of that country on a local and global scale. In Western society commerce, and social interaction generally, is almost entirely Internet dependant to a lesser or greater extent. Andy Grove, the former Chair of Intel, said that [...]by the mid-2000s all companies will be Internet companies, or they won’t be companies at all.[24]

In countries where the Internet and other technologies are less/not accessible, uneducated people and societies that are not benefiting from the information age cannot be competitive in the global economy.[25]


Canada: According to an Autumn 2007 Canadian Internet Use Survey, 73% of Canadians aged 16 and older went online in the 12 months prior to the survey, compared to 68% in 2005. In small towns and rural areas, only 65% of residences accessed the Internet, compared to 76% in urban areas. The digital divide still exists between the rich and the poor; 91% of people making more than $91,000/year regularly used the Internet, compared to 47% of people making less than $24,000. This gap has lowered slightly since 2005.[26]
China: China is the largest developing country in the world and therefore saw their Internet population grow by 20% in 2006.[27] However, just over 19% of Chinese people have access to the Internet and the digital divide is growing due to factors such as insufficient infrastructure and high online charges,[28] (see Digital divide in China).
Europe: A European Union study from 2005 conducted in 14 European countries and focused on the issue of digital divide found that within the EU,[29] the digital divide is primarily a matter of age and education. Among the young or educated the proportion of computer or Internet users is much higher than with the older or uneducated. Digital divide is also higher in rural areas. The study found that the presence of children in a household increases the chance of having a computer and Internet access, and that small businesses are catching up with larger enterprises when it comes to Internet access. The study also notes that despite increasing levels of ICT usage in all sections of society, the divide is not being bridged.
United States: According to a July 2008 Pew Internet & American Life report, “55% of adult Americans have broadband Internet connections at home, up from 47% who had high-speed access at home last year at this time [2007]”. This increase of 8% compared to the previous year’s increase of 5% suggests that the digital divide is decreasing, though the findings also show that low-income Americans’ broadband connections decreased by 3%.[30]

[edit] e-democracy and governance

The theoretical concepts of e-democracy and e-governance are still in early development, but many scholars agree that blogs (web logs), wikis and mailing lists may have significant effects in broadening the way democracy operates.[31]

There is no consensus yet about the possible outcomes of this revolution;[31] It has so far shown promise in improving electoral administration and reducing fraud and disenfranchisement. Particularly positive has been the reception of e-government services related to online delivery of government services, with portals, (such as United States USA.gov, in English, GobiernoUSA.gov in Spanish), used as intermediaries between the government and the citizen, replacing the need for people to queue in traditional offices.[32]

One of the main problems associated with the digital divide as applied to a liberal democracy is the ability to participate in the new public space, cyberspace - as in the extreme case, exclusively computer-based democratic participation (deliberation forums, online voting, etc), could mean that no access meant no vote; there is a risk that some social groups — those without adequate access to or knowledge of IT — will be under-represented (or others over-represented) in the policy formation processes and this would be incompatible with the equality principles of democracy.[32]

Proponents of the open content, free software, and open access social movements believe that these movements help equalize access to digital tools and information.[33]

[edit] Overcoming the digital divide

Children encountering a One Laptop per Child computer

Projects like One Laptop per Child and 50x15 though postive steps in reducing the divide, tend to rely heavily upon open standards and free open source software. The OLPC XO-1 is an inexpensive laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries around the world,[34] to provide them with access to knowledge. Programmer and free software advocate Richard Stallman has highlighted the importance of free software among groups concerned with the digital divide such as the World Summit on the Information Society.[35]

Organizations such as Geekcorps, EduVision[36] and Inveneo[37] also help to lessen the divide, often doing so through the use of education systems that draw on information technology. The technology they employ often includes low-cost laptops/subnotebooks, handhelds (eg Simputer, E-slate, ...), tablet PCs, Mini-ITX PCs[38] and low-cost WiFi-extending technology as cantennas and WokFis. Other information technology material usable in the classroom can also be made diy to lower expenses, including projectors.[39][40]

In Digital Nation, Anthony G. Wilhelm calls on politicians to develop a national ICT agenda.[13]

Mehra and others say researchers in the field should try to better understand the lifestyle of the minority or marginalized community,what is meaningful to them, and how they use (or do not use) different forms of the Internet for meeting their objectives,[41] further stating, there is a need for a re-examination of questions based on traditional ways of looking at people, their social dynamics, and their interactions with technology.[41]

Researchers, however,still tend to set a ‘method’ for studying the impact of Internet use. Assuming a golden rule for application that will function in all situations will not work.[42] One strategy is to transfer goal-setting, decision making, and choice-determining processes into the hands of the disadvantaged users in order that they ‘fit’ Internet into their daily lives in ways that they themselves consider to be meaningful.[43]

International cooperation between governments is increasing, aimed at reducing the divide, such as a recent agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Egyptian government. It's a sign of progress that such attempts at bridging the digital divide are seriously being made.[44]

Other participants in similar endeavors include the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development and the Digital Alliance Foundation.[45][46]

U.N. meeting on bridging the divide

The United Nations is aiming to raise awareness of the divide by way of the World Information Society Day which takes place yearly on May 17.[47] It also set up the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Task Force in November 2001.[48]

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the IMARA organization (from Swahili word for "power") sponsors a variety of outreach programs which bridge the divide. Its aim is to find and implement long-term, sustainable solutions which will increase the availability of educational technology and resources to domestic and international communities. These projects are run under the aegis of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and staffed by MIT volunteers who give training, installed and donated computer setups in greater Boston, Massachusetts, Kenya, Indian reservations the American Southwest such as the Navajo Nation, the Middle East, and Fiji Islands. The CommuniTech project strives to empower underserved communities through sustainable technology and education.[49][50]

Some cities in the world have started programs to bridge the divide for their residents, school children, students, parents and the elderly. One such program, founded in 1996, was sponsored by the city of Boston and called the Boston Digital Bridge Foundation.[51] It especially concentrates on school children and their parents, helping to make both equally and similarly knowledgeable about computers, using application programs, and navigating the Internet.

In the United States, minority ethnic groups have higher adoption rates for mobile communications devices than white Americans, to some degree leapfrogging over more expensive fixed-line Internet and PCs.[52]

[edit] Awards

Each year, Certiport (which focuses on teaching digital literacy) awards the Champions of Digital Literacy award to leaders, world wide, who have helped to close the digital divide in their native countries.[53]

[edit] Criticism

The existence of a digital divide is not universally recognized. Compaine (2001) argues it is a perceived gap. Technology gaps are relatively transient; hence the digital divide should soon disappear in any case. The knowledge of computers will become less important as they get smarter and easier to use. In the future people will not need high-tech skills to access the Internet and participate in e-commerce or e-democracy. Thus Compaine argues that a digital divide is not the issue to expend substantial amounts of funds or political capital.[3]

[edit] See also

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[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Rice, 2002, p.105-129
  2. ^ Robyn Bickner, Down By Law. Retrieved on 22 November 2007 Under heading Closing the Digital Divide
  3. ^ a b c Compaine, The Digital Divide, Preface, p. xi-xvi
  4. ^ a b Kate Williams, What is the digital divide?, working paper, University of Michigan, 2001
  5. ^ Eleventh Paragraph Remarks by President Clinton
  6. ^ (1995)
  7. ^ (1998)
  8. ^ (1999)
  9. ^ (2000)
  10. ^ (2002)
  11. ^ (2004)
  12. ^ a b Mehra et al., 2004, p.782
  13. ^ a b Anthony G. Wielm, Digital Nation: Towards an inclusive information society, MIT Press, 2004, ISBN 0262232383, p.133-134
  14. ^ Lisa Servon, 2002, p.2
  15. ^ a b (Bridging the digital divide)
  16. ^ a b (The Digital Divide in Canada)
  17. ^ ED.gov
  18. ^ Ed.gov
  19. ^ Gordon, A., Gordon, M. and Moore, E. (2003) The Gates legacy. Library Journal, 128:4, pp. 44-48.
  20. ^ Sullivan, J., Vander Leest, T., Gordon, A. Work and Play in the Information Age: Technology Usage in Boys & Girls Clubs. University of Washington: Seattle. 2009.
  21. ^ "New Report Shows How E‐Rate is Connecting Communities and Schools to 21st Century Academic and Employment Opportunities", National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training, Washington, DC, February 28, 2007.
  22. ^ DigitalDivide.net
  23. ^ Bargh & McKenna, 2001, p. 577
  24. ^ Flew, 2008, p.199
  25. ^ Burks, Michael R., "Economic Factors Involved with Universal Internet Access and People with Special Needs hi- A Working Paper", Internet Fiesta, March 1-2, 2001, Sofia, Bulgaria
  26. ^ Statcan.ca
  27. ^ The Growth of the Chinese Internet market
  28. ^ CIA.gov
  29. ^ EC.europa.eu
  30. ^ Horrigan, Home Broadband Adoption 2008 Report
  31. ^ a b See various papers collected in Peter M. Shane, Democracy Online: The Prospects for Political Renewal Through the Internet, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0415948657
  32. ^ a b Kieron O'Hara, David Stevens, Inequality.com, 2006, Oneworld, ISBN 1851684506, p.300-301
  33. ^ DigitalDivide.net
  34. ^ "Portables to power PC industry". BBC News. 2007-09-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7006316.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
  35. ^ Stallman, 2006 speech transcript
  36. ^ Eduvision as organization addressing digital divide
  37. ^ Inveneo as organization addressing digital divide
  38. ^ Geekcorps using Mini-ITX PCs
  39. ^ DIY lcd projector
  40. ^ DIY lcd and lightbulb projectors
  41. ^ a b Mehra et al., 2004, p.799
  42. ^ Mehra et al., 2004, p.797
  43. ^ Mehra et al., 2004, p.787
  44. ^ Mark Warschauer, "Reconceptualizing the Digital Divide"
  45. ^ Global Alliance for ICT and Development
  46. ^ Digital Alliance Foundation: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Education for All (EFA)
  47. ^ 17 May - World Information Society Day. From portal.unesco.org. Retrieved on 23 November 2007]
  48. ^ United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force - information. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
  49. ^ Cf. Fizz and Mansur, MIT Tech Talk, June 4, 2008
  50. ^ IMARA Project at MIT.edu
  51. ^ Boston Digital Bridge Foundation
  52. ^ NPR.org
  53. ^ Champions of Digital Literacy Hall of Fame

[edit] References

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